Liberal Democrats perform poorly in UK elections

Euronews

Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, has held onto his seat in Sheffield Hallam in the north of England. However, he seems to failed to turn his TV debate success into election results for his party as, so far, they are still firmly in third.

Speaking after his victory in Sheffield Hallam was announced, Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats said: “It’s obviously been a disappointing night for the Liberal Democrats. We simply haven’t achieved what we hoped. I’m nevertheless proud of the way we conducted the campaign. I think we conducted a positive campaign, full of hope, full of optimism, which I think did engage a lot of people in the election campaign, even if they didn’t then go on to vote for the Liberal Democrats.”

Already there is talk of the Prime Minister doing a deal with the Lib Dems.

Clegg said no decisions have been made: “I don’t think anyone should rush into making claims or taking decisions which don’t stand the test of time. I think it would be best if everybody were to just take a bit of time so that people get the good government that they deserve in these very difficult and uncertain times.”

In Clegg’s constituency, he almost doubled his share of the vote. However, what remains to be seen is what role his party will play, should there be a hung parliament.